Thank you 2018, you forced me to grow. You pulled the rug from underneath me, stripped me of my bearings, and then starred me down challenging me to get back up.

The Moth welcomes writers to share a true story from the storyteller's life, and what they share can be humorous, emotional, or heartfelt but basically always leaves one feeling a little more connected to humanity than you did before - or at least it does for me. I love listening to people's stories. I love connection. So I really love The Moth.

Bless this mess that is the physical manifestation of my inner world. The piles and temporary designated areas of significance. The loosely outlined sections on the floor for this and that. My fuzzy idea that I'll be able to find THIS under or on top of THAT.

The story of Loulou Edie Reed is filled with suspense, drama, and lots of love. A Yorkshire terrier with a full name and mysterious background, she waltzed into my (our) life when the last thing on my mind was adopting a new dog. But like most of the pets my family has acquired, we don’t pick the time for a dog- the dog picks us.

When I was a kid I LOVED ice cream sandwiches. I'm not a huge ice cream person, but I still have a soft spot for the ice cream sandwich. The other day, as I was snacking on this tasty treat at Thinkspace Gallery, it reminded me of this mischievous story from my childhood.

"What are you doing this weekend? Want to attend a protest against the abortion clinic?" 

I can't say these were the exact words of the plucky, intelligent and deeply caring junior high friend who asked me to join her and the group organizing this protest, but that was the impression it left me. And I can't recall my exact words back to her, but I likely stuttered and declined – not challenging her desire to protest abortion and now exploring my ideas about her and why it felt wrong to attend.

Dunes of fast fashion pile up in the Chilean desert, and sea turtles get straws stuck up their nose. A plastic bag and plastic gloves are kept in our hiking backpack to pick up litter along the dirt paths leading to scenic nature vistas. Only to later throw said litter bag in a bin that ends up in a landfill where it will be isolated from the rest of the environment, yet potentially reach capacity in less than eight years and be closed—forcing a new shiny landfill to be developed somewhere else. I don’t state this to trigger any eco-anxiety. It’s a reality of our human existence due to the overproduction, overconsumption, and over-accumulation driven by the unchecked dark side of capitalist philosophy, free-market rhetoric, and mental health trauma.

America's a hot mess that talks a big game but can never seem to really get their shit together. I need to set boundaries with America, or else they will suck me dry of any spirit or joy. An emotional vampire, toxic environment, straight-up infuriating devil I know. So, yeah, America – we have issues, and I don't want you to think that my eating BBQ, watching colorful explosives, and enjoying my federal holiday off of work is because we're friends.

No – I'm celebrating in the name of Americana.

I was in the mood for watching a film that had a dreamy stylized aesthetic and an uplifting storyline. Surprisingly, I find that combination is hard to come by unless you watch movies from the sixties or fifties. And that is how I landed on re-watching the 1961 classic 'The Parent Trap' on Disney+. I remember loving the looks in the film as a kid and always liked the original better than the Lindsay Lohan remake.

A handful of candies are perfect in their fun-size form and lack the same appeal when at their counter non-fun-sized proportion.

Yes, I'm a thirty-three-year-old married woman with an established career who lives with their mother. For the past 15 years, I've carried a growing shame about living with her, and it wasn't until I was in quarantine with my Mom did I unpack that baggage.

The topic this slam was REVELATIONS, and I desired to share my spiritual journey and revelation about religion and my decision to become a confirmed Catholic. I wrote out my story, revised it, rehearsed it in the shower, and had a nervous breakdown in my bed in the midst of reciting it to Dan the night before.

I am a loyalist when it comes to my favorite products; it is hard to get me to deviate from what I know works for me. So, I don’t think I will ever do an empties video again, because of this – I made my ultimate empties video.

Over this past year, I collected my trash in a large bag in my closet. Explore my $750 worth of trash.

I have Dysthymia, or, in simple terms, persistent depressive disorder. It’s fairly common, affecting around 3 million people in the US (thank you, Google), but it is less common than major depressive disorder, which affects around 16 million people in the US and is what most people tend to associate or understand as depression. A person with persistent depressive disorder, like myself, can experience major depression, which is then called double depression – how fun is that. But when you have persistent depressive disorder, it means you’ve been in a state of depression for two or more years, and there are moments of it when it’s alleviated but basically, you don’t go more than two months without depression (thank you MayoClinic)

We've all been pissed before. We've all wished something bad on someone else. But in the age of the internet things escalate quickly, and it seems that people forget another human in on the other end of the venomous toxic message that is being sent out over the interweb. There is definitely a dehumanization occurring in society, a disintegration of civility, and maybe it's because we interact with a screen more than actual people - but let's bring back the humanity in our threats!

Anyways, one of the little details you’ve probably never thought about when it comes to festival production is ‘pest’ control. I’ve been to Coachella five times, and not once did it occur to me that they have an onsite beekeeper to remove hives until I sat down to dinner with him. The Coachella Beekeeper.

I've attended Coachella once as a festival goer and have been working at the festival in the merch department for the last 3 years. That totals up to 4 years of Coachella experience. So let me share my insight with you!

Now that all my Christmas cards have been sent out, I feel like I can share with you my top 5 moments from 2015.